It’s almost here!! SPRING!! I absolutely love this time of year because I can decorate the patios and our courtyard with alllll the flowers and plants! It is such a colorful time of year and it makes me think of birds chirping and little streams with soothing running water. Can’t you just hear it? Ahhhh.
Ok, let’s get to the good stuff. With all that being said, it is the perfect time to put together an outdoor oasis and patio space for guests or your family. Whether you have a small patio or a little apartment balcony, you can no doubt make it cute, inviting and colorful!
First Steps
First, measure your space because the number one thing you’ll want to pull your space together is an outdoor rug or two. If you’ve been here long you’ll know how much I love layered rugs—and that means outside too! Jute and sisal rugs are best for this outdoors because they are neutral so you can layer any color or pattern on top of them. Ideally, you’ll want to measure the area where you want your furniture to go so you have at least the front legs of the furniture on the rug (same principal as indoor rugs). You can read here on rug sizing.
After you choose your rug(s), start putting your furniture and accessories together. I love using Canva to do this because it is super user-friendly and you can do it on your desktop, laptop or app on your phone just using the images of the pieces from their respective websites. Here is my mood board from Canva for our back patio. In Canva you can select the image and click on Edit Image and select BG Remover to have all the items in there just by themselves and remove the background of the picture. You can try Canva for free here. I pulled images of the furniture I currently have since I don’t plan on replacing it and added in plants and a new rug. I have the colorful striped rug in our courtyard but we are about to completely redo the courtyard and sell the furniture in it since no one ever sits down there. So I will layer that rug on a new rug for the back patio. Repurpose where you can! Oh, and stay tuned for what we are going to do with the courtyard!🤩
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Choosing furniture & accessories
For many, choosing the pieces to put in your space tends to be the hardest part of pulling it together. I suggest jotting down ideas in terms of style first. Do you want wicker for a natural or boho vibe? Do you want a more high-end look with metal or more modern furniture? Do you want a little fountain for the soothing sound of water?
After you’ve narrowed down your style, start sourcing products in that style. Wayfair, Target, and Walmart are all great at filtering by category and style on their website. Especially Wayfair. They have so many filters to narrow down choices, even down to color!
Next, you’ll want to write down ideas of how you’ll use the space. Will you eat there? Hang out and chat? Kids play? Have some outdoor games? Think of all the ways you will use the space and start writing down pieces and products that fit the function of the space. You might want cold drinks in the summer, so you can source out a standing cooler or a beverage station. Below I have put together several different styles and functions for outdoor spaces with all products linked where available.
Putting it together
Now, once you have furniture and accessories for your space picked out, I would lay it out in Canva or you can go old school and print out the pics of the pieces and cut them out and place them on paper. Remember when creating a conversation area to keep it cozy. By cozy I mean you want the area to have seating where everyone can see each other and talk to each other without raising your voice to be heard. By putting all the front legs of the furniture pieces on the rug this will create a close and cozy space for conversation. Having an outdoor coffee table is always optional, but it is a great choice if you will be setting down drinks, having snacks, have a tabletop fire pit or fountain. You can always put your feet up too!
Adding plants, as you may know, is always at the top of my list. In case you didn’t know, my youngest son counted the plants in our house and we have around 50. I haven’t counted the ones outside. But there aren’t near as many as I’d like! Back to adding plants to your space. If they will reside outdoors always look up the zone you live in and whether the plant needs sun, part sun, shade or part shade. Is it drought and/or heat tolerant if you live in a hot climate? Is it cold tolerant if you live in a cold climate (especially in the winter). All these need to be considered. I sometimes just by annuals (which only are in season one time per year) for my pots so I can freshen them up and change them each season. Perennials are plants that come back even if they go dormant in winter or summer. Good spring into summer flowers are:
- Petunia. Petunias are usually considered to be the best plant that thrives throughout the growing season, starting in the spring and continuing to the winter months. …
- Zinnias
- Gaillardia
- Globe Amaranth
- Sea Holly
- Stella de Oro Daylily
- Evergreen Candytuft
- Brown-Eyed Susan
Read the full article on flowers here.
After choosing your flowers and plants, place them around your patio in different heights. Some in pots on the ground, some in plant stands, and usually in groups of 3 or 5. Don’t discount hanging plants or window box plants/flowers too!
Now sit back and enjoy your patio! I hope this helps you plan your outdoor spaces for this upcoming outdoor season! As always, email me anytime with questions and follow me in stories on Instagram for my backyard patio update and the makeover of our courtyard.
